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Open-File Report 2016-1058


High-Resolution Seismic-Reflection Data from Offshore of Northern California—Bolinas to Sea Ranch

Metadata

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Metadata:


Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Ray W. Sliter, Samuel Y. Johnson, John L. Chin, Parker Allwardt, Jeffrey Beeson, and Peter J. Triezenberg
Publication_Date: 2016
Title:
High-Resolution Seismic-Reflection Data from Offshore of Northern California—Bolinas to Sea Ranch
Series_Information:
Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
Issue_Identification: 2016–1058
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Menlo Park, CA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Online_Linkage: <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2016/1058/>
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: seismic reflection profile section
Description:
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey collected high-resolution seismic-reflection data in September 2009, on survey S-8-09-NC, offshore of northern California between Bolinas and Sea Ranch.

The survey area spans about 125 km of California's coast and extends around Point Reyes. Data were collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey R/V Parke Snavely. Cumulatively, ~1,150 km of seismic-reflection data were acquired using a SIG 2mille minisparker. Subbottom acoustic depth of penetration spanned tens to several hundred meters and varied by location and underlying sediments and rock types.

This report includes maps and a navigation file of the surveyed transects, utilizing Google Earth™ software, as well as digital data files showing images of each transect in SEG-Y and JPEG formats. The images of bedrock, sediment deposits, and tectonic structure provide geologic information that is essential to hazard assessment, regional sediment management, and coastal and marine spatial planning at Federal, State and local levels. This information is also valuable for future research on the geomorphic, sedimentary, tectonic, and climatic record of central California.

Purpose:
In September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected high-resolution seismic-reflection data offshore of northern California between Bolinas and Sea Ranch (fig. 1). The survey area spans ~125 km of the coastline, extending offshore beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. The southern part of the survey area stretches around the Point Reyes National Seashore and extends in to the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Data were collected aboard the USGS R/V Parke Snavely. Cumulatively, ~1,150 km of seismic-reflection lines were acquired.

The study area is cut by the northern San Andreas Fault (Clark and Brabb, 1997; Prentice and Kelson, 2006), which is the primary structure in the widely distributed transform plate boundary along much of the west coast of North America (for example, Argus and Gordon, 2001). In this area, the San Andreas Fault lies offshore between Bodega Bay and Tomales Bay, and between Salmon Creek and Fort Ross. Outside of these areas, the onshore fault zone forms a prominent topographic lineament that coincides with Bolinas Lagoon and Tomales Bay. This section of the San Andreas Fault has an estimated slip rate of 17–24 mm per year (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010). The devastating Great 1906 California earthquake (M 7.8) is thought to have nucleated on the San Andreas Fault a few kilometers south of this survey area, offshore of San Francisco (for example, Bolt, 1968; Lomax, 2005).

The study area has particular interest for environmental and geologic hazards considerations. Understanding the region’s ecosystems and how they function is fundamental to effective stewardship of California's State Waters, the National Seashore, and the National Marine Sanctuary. The need for accurate characterization of the seafloor and its substrate, including sediment distribution and thickness, as revealed by high-resolution seismic-reflection data, is important for building such an understanding.

Finally, these geophysical data will contribute to a range of geologic and habitat map products that will be used for a variety of coastal and marine spatial-planning applications.

Supplemental_Information:
Data were acquired on cruise S-08-09-NC in September, 2009. Information on this cruise is available at http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=S809NC. Using a SIG 2mille minisparker source, ~1,150 km of seismic-reflection profiles were collected at ~1,000-m line spacing.

The SIG 2mille minisparker system uses a 500-Joule, high-voltage electrical discharge that was fired at intervals ranging from 0.50–0.75 seconds depending on water depth. The source signal frequency bandwidth ranges from 200–1600 Hz. Half-second intervals were used where water depth was less than 350 m, which characterizes most of the study area. The 0.50-second firing rate and normal survey speeds of 4–4.5 nautical miles per hour yield a data trace about every meter. The data were recorded on a 15-m-long hydrophone streamer in standard SEG-Y 32-bit floating-point format, using Triton Subbottom Logger (SBL) software that merges seismic-reflection data with differential global positioning system (GPS) navigation data. After the survey, ship-heave statics were calculated using SIOSEIS seismic processing software, and these corrections were applied to the data to filter out the effect of the sea swell. A short-window (20 ms) automatic gain control algorithm and a 160–1,200-Hz bandpass filter was applied to the minisparker data. Data quality varies with substrate, with penetration ranging up to as much as 200–300 m in inferred fine-grained sediments.

Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 20090908
Ending_Date: 20090930
Currentness_Reference: ground condition
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.5205
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.3089
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.7091
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.5906
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS CMG InfoBank
Theme_Keyword: Marine Geology
Theme_Keyword: Marine Geophysics
Theme_Keyword: Marine Seismic
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD SCIENCE PARAMETERS
Theme_Keyword:
EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > SEISMOLOGY > SEISMIC PROFILE
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > COASTAL PROCESSES > SEDIMENTATION
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Place_Keyword: Point Reyes
Place_Keyword: Bolinas
Place_Keyword: Bodega Bay
Place_Keyword: Sea Ranch
Place_Keyword: Sonoma County
Place_Keyword: Marin County
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS CMG InfoBank
Place_Keyword: CA
Place_Keyword: San Andreas Fault Zone
Place_Keyword: North Pacific Ocean
Place_Keyword: Northern Pacific Ocean
Place_Keyword: Northern California
Place_Keyword: California State Waters
Place_Keyword: USA
Access_Constraints:
Information presented in this publication is considered public information and may be distributed or copied.
Use_Constraints:
This information is not intended for navigational purposes.

Read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to data use. Uses of these data should not violate the spatial resolution of the data. Where these data are used in combination with other data of different resolution, the resolution of the combined output will be limited by the lowest resolution of all the data.

Acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey in products derived from these data. Share data products developed using these data with the U.S. Geological Survey.

This database has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS. Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.

Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document these data in nonproprietary form, as well as in ArcInfo format, this metadata file may include some ArcInfo-specific terminology.

Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC)
Contact_Person: Ray W. Sliter
Contact_Position: Geophysicist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: USGS, 400 Natural Bridges Drive
City: Santa Cruz
State_or_Province: CA
Postal_Code: 95060-5792
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (831) 460-7427
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (831) 460-7456
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: rsliter@usgs.gov
Browse_Graphic:
Browse_Graphic_File_Name: <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2016/1058/tracklines/jpg/PR-07.jpg>
Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
Example of single-channel mini-sparker seismic data accessible via this report.
Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG
Data_Set_Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Native_Data_Set_Environment: SEG-Y
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG)
Publication_Date: 2013
Title: USGS CMG S-8-09-NC Metadata
Online_Linkage:
<http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/s/s809nc/html/s-8-09-nc.meta.html>

Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report: Data have not been independently verified.
Logical_Consistency_Report: Undetermined
Completeness_Report:
Reference the full report for a description of data coverage. All seismic-reflection data collected on the referenced cruises have been included in this report. Some seismic profiles have gaps in them due to system crashes, mammal shutdowns or hardware maintenance.
Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
Shot point numbers in the data files correspond to those in the navigation files. The horizontal positional accuracy of the seismic data thus linked to ship's position is estimated to be within 30 meters.
Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:
Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
Depths shown in the seismic data files are in milliseconds (round trip travel time) and are referenced to sea level.
Lineage:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Refer to report sections "Data Acquisition and Processing" for details of geophysical data acquisition and processing sequence used for data in this report. - Ray W. Sliter
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Created bathymetry overlay using GMT <http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/>. - Peter J. Triezenberg
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Created interactive trackline map using Google Maps API <http://code.google.com/apis/maps/>. - Peter J. Triezenberg
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Created downloadable Google Earth "kmz" file <http://code.google.com/apis/kml/>. - Peter J. Triezenberg
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Calculated and applied seismic heave statics using SIOSEIS <http://sioseis.ucsd.edu/> - Jeff Beeson
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Created seismic profile images using Seismic Unix <http://www.cwp.mines.edu/cwpcodes/> to provide format options for downloading data. - Ray W. Sliter
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG)
Contact_Person: Ray W. Sliter
Contact_Position: Geophysicist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: USGS, 400 Natural Bridges Drive
City: Santa Cruz
State_or_Province: CA
Postal_Code: 95060-5792
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (831) 460-7427
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (831) 427-4709
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: rsliter@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Converted profiles to JPEG files using ImageMagick <http://www.imagemagick.org/>. - Ray W. Sliter
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Used GEODAS (GEOphysical DAta System) to create a custom bathymetric and topographic grid for the southern California region covered by the cruise maps. The website is: <http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/geodas/geodas.html>. The parameters used are as follows: Grid Database: US Coastal Relief Model Grids Grid Area in degrees and minutes: 34:30 N to 33:48 N, 119:00 W to 120:24 W Grid Cell Size: 3 seconds Grid Format: XYZ (lon, lat, depth), no header, space-delimited, omit empty grid cells. Cell Parameters: 4-byte floating point, tenths of meters Land/Sea Coverage: Sea cells only. - Peter J. Triezenberg
Process_Date: 2012
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG)
Contact_Person: Peter J. Triezenberg
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: USGS, 400 Natural Bridges Drive
City: Santa Cruz
State_or_Province: CA
Postal_Code: 95060-5792
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (831) 460-7413
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (831) 427-4709
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ptriezenberg@usgs.gov

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
Horizontal X and Y locations for the seimic profiles location are provided in ASCII position files and are also stored in the SEG-Y data trace headers in the standard header locations.

Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Planar:
Grid_Coordinate_System:
Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
UTM_Zone_Number: 10
Transverse_Mercator:
Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -119.0
Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0
False_Easting: 500000
False_Northing: 0
Planar_Coordinate_Information:
Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair
Coordinate_Representation:
Abscissa_Resolution: 3
Ordinate_Resolution: 3
Planar_Distance_Units: seconds
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: World Geodetic System 1984
Ellipsoid_Name: WGS 84
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
Ascii data set s-8-09-nc.410_sparker has initial header records followed by data records with these fields - 4-digit year, 3-digit day of year, 2-digit hour, 2-digit minute, 2-digit second, 1-digit tenth of second, decimal degree latitude, decimal degree longitude, alpha-numeric line ID, FFID number, Shot number, and CDP number. Example:
					! 10/16/2009 ray s-8-09-nc.410_sparker
					! /infobank/programs/edit/mergeit/mergeit
					! merged SEG-Y shots with s-8-09-nc.061 Ray Sliter 10/26/09
					!
					20092521622440  38.01074 -122.89369        PR-01         1         1         1
					20092521622500  38.01067 -122.89376        PR-01         2         2         2
					20092521622510  38.01066 -122.89378        PR-01         4         4         4
					20092521622520  38.01064 -122.89379        PR-01         6         6         6
					20092521622530  38.01063 -122.89380        PR-01         8         8         8
					
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
U.S. Geological Survey, USGS CMG InfoBank format for Seismic FFID/Shot/CDP data, 2012, <http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/dictionary2html/format_410.html>.

Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG)
Contact_Person: Ray W. Sliter
Contact_Position: Geophysicist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: USGS, 400 Natural Bridges Drive
City: Santa Cruz
State_or_Province: CA
Postal_Code: 95060-5792
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (831) 460-4727
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (831) 427-4709
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: rsliter@usgs.gov
Contact_Instructions:
Data may be available off-line only by special arrangement with the distributor above. Please use the on-line download option unless precluded by download times or access difficulties.
Resource_Description: U.S. Geological Suvey Open-File Report 2013-1071
Distribution_Liability:
This information is not intended for navigational purposes.

This database has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS. Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.

Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: SEG-Y, JPEG, ASCII
Transfer_Size: 2500
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Network_Resource_Name: <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2016/1058/>
Offline_Option:
Recording_Format: ISO 9660
Offline_Media: none
Fees: None
Technical_Prerequisites:
Use of SEG-Y data requires specialized software, such as ProMax and Seisworks by Landmark Geophysical; FOCUS and SeisX by Paradigm Geophysical; SPW by Parallel Geoscience; or VISTA by Seismic Image Software.

Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20130612
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG)
Contact_Person: Ray W. Sliter
Contact_Position: Geophysicist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: USGS, 400 Natural Bridges Drive
City: Santa Cruz
State_or_Province: CA
Postal_Code: 95060-5792
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (831) 460-7427
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (831) 427-4709
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: rsliter@usgs.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: universal time
Metadata_Access_Constraints: none
Metadata_Use_Constraints: none

Generated by mp version 2.9.33 on Thu Jul 14 09:39:21 2016
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